There is a need for low cost, high performance gyroscopes for navigation systems, precision point systems, and guidance systems. The navigation-grade gyro market has historically favored HeNe ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs) such as the GG1320, but thermally extreme, high shock, and high vibration applications in GPS-denied missions require a new look at the trade space. In conventional RLGs, a “dither motor” is required to prevent resonance frequencies from becoming degenerate at small rates; and the dither motor requires fragile moving parts, which are unsuitable for high shock and vibration applications. The monolithic integration of optical waveguides on a single silicon substrate with no moving parts offers an advantage in demanding environments.
Prior art Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) gyroscopes have high pump power requirements due to the inefficiency with which the pump laser light is converted to light at the Brillouin-shifted sensing frequency. Some prior art SBS gyroscopes require two pump lasers to generate two counter propagating SBS and do not fully benefit from the low relative phase noise between pump and SBS.